Buildings Summer Study Overview

The 2016 Summer Study was the 19th biennial ACEEE conference on Energy Efficiency in Buildings. A diverse group of professionals from around the world gathered at this pre-eminent meeting to discuss the technological basis for, and practical implementation of, actions to reduce energy use and the climate impacts associated with buildings. The Summer Study enabled sharing of ideas and dialog among leading thinkers, visionaries, and luminaries in the field, while in the midst of the magnificent natural setting of Asilomar.

Plenary Sessions

Sunday, August 21

Cole Roberts, Associate Principal

Energy & Resource Sustainability, Arup

From Zero Net Energy Buildings to Zero Net Energy Communities

Cole leads the energy and sustainability business in Arup’s 300 person San Francisco office, specializing in design, planning, and innovation in the new and existing built environment. He is a co-author of the book “Two Degrees – Our Built Environment and the Changing Climate” and has been a keynote speaker at numerous conferences. He is a published contributor to many peer reviewed journals and is a frequent guest lecturer at Stanford University and the University of California at Berkeley. Most recently, Cole has led Arup’s WeatherShift initiative to generate future climate data for 250 of the largest cities in the world.

Monday, August 22

Bill Ritter, Governor

Center for the New Energy Economy, Colorado State University

Powering Forward: What Every American Should Know About America’s
Clean Energy Revolution

Governor Bill Ritter was elected Colorado's 41st governor in 2006. During his four year term, Ritter established Colorado as a national and international leader in clean energy by building a New Energy Economy. After leaving the Governor’s Office, Ritter founded the Center for the New Energy Economy at Colorado State University, which works with state and federal policy makers to create clean energy policy throughout the country. Governor Ritter has authored a book that was recently published entitled, Powering Forward – What Everyone should know about America’s Energy Revolution.

Tuesday, August 23

Hunt Allcott, Assistant Professor of Economics

New York University

Hunt Allcott is an Assistant Professor of Economics at New York University and a Faculty Research Fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research. He is a Scientific Director of ideas42, a think tank that applies insights from psychology and economics to business and policy design problems, an Affiliate of Poverty Action Lab, a network of researchers who use randomized evaluations to answer critical policy questions in the fight against poverty, and a Faculty Affiliate of E2e, a group of economists, engineers, and behavioral scientists focused on evaluating and improving energy efficiency policy. He is also a Contributing Author of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fifth Assessment Report. According to a recent article in the American Economic Journal, Professor Allcott is one of the top five most-cited economists who have completed a PhD after 2005.

Professor Allcott holds a PhD from Harvard University and a BS and MS from Stanford University. Before coming to NYU, he was the Energy and Society Fellow in the MIT Economics Department and the MIT Energy Initiative. During academic year 2013-2014, he was a visiting professor at Berkeley, Stanford, and the University of Chicago. He has also worked in the private sector as a consultant with Cambridge Energy Research Associates and in international development as a consultant to the World Bank.

Professor Allcott is an applied microeconomist who studies topics in environmental and energy economics, industrial organization, behavioral economics, and development microeconomics. He uses a variety of tools, including both structural and reduced form econometrics, applied theory, and randomized field experiments.

The Grapevine

Informal Sessions

Informal Sessions allow individuals an open forum to meet and follow up on the ideas and issues raised during formal presentations. They are also a venue to facilitate discussion of other topics of mutual interest to participants.

Click below on each time period to view the Informal Sessions that were presented at the 2016 Summer Study.

2016 Champion of Energy Efficiency in Buildings Awards

The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) presented three Champion of Energy Efficiency awards last night at its 19th biennial Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings. The awards recognize leadership and accomplishment in the energy efficiency field. Winners are selected based on demonstrated excellence in research and development, energy policy, implementation and deployment, buildings leadership, or lifetime achievement. The winners for 2016 are:

Margie Harris: For leading the Energy Trust of Oregon from startup to becoming one of the foremost energy efficiency program administrators in the United States, bringing large energy savings and financial and environmental benefits to Oregon consumers and businesses.

John Cymbalsky: For his work leading the DOE Appliance and Equipment Standards Program, streamlining the rulemaking process, and improving transparency. More than 40 product standards have been completed under his leadership, achieving cumulative energy bill savings of more than half a trillion dollars.

EDF Climate Corps: For their innovative program to help organizations identify and implement energy efficiency measures in commercial facilities. Since 2008, over 600 Climate Corps fellows working in 400 public- and private-sector organizations have identified efficiency projects with the potential to save close to $1.5 billion in energy costs and reduce annual carbon emissions by 2 million metric tons.

The winners were nominated by their peers and selected by a committee of ACEEE's Board of Directors from an impressive group of nominations. Selection criteria were based on each nominee's impact, innovation, and leadership in the energy efficiency field.

Scholarships are sponsored by the Linda Latham Scholarship Fund which was established in memory of Linda Latham who served as ACEEE’s Chief Operating Officer until her untimely death in September 2011. Linda believed that students bring talent and creativity to the field of energy efficiency especially if we provide a venue to inspire and educate them. For the 2016 Summer Study, Linda Latham Scholarships are were awarded to students at three different scholarship levels.

Help support our Linda Latham Scholars!

They are our next generation of energy efficiency professionals. Their attendance at Summer Study is due to the generosity of people like you who understand the importance of their participation and the learning and networking opportunities only Summer Study can offer.

ACEEE Summer Study on Energy Efficiency
in Buildings - Papers

Overview / Mission

The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization, acts as a catalyst to advance energy efficiency policies, programs, technologies, investments, and behaviors. We believe that the United States can harness the full potential of energy efficiency to achieve greater economic prosperity, energy security, and environmental protection for all its people.